MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) -- Tennessee’s unemployment rate rose sharply in July.
Joblessness jumped three tenths of one percent to 8.4 percent, pushing it above the national rate of 8.3 percent.
The new rate is the highest Tennessee has seen since last December, but still a full percentage point below August 2011.
In spite of rising unemployment, Tennessee saw strong job growth in July in the manufacturing, health care and government employment sectors. The state lost jobs in hospitality, business services, and transportation.
The July increase in unemployment marks the third straight month of growing unemployment.